StockNews.com Downgrades Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) to Buy

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Saturday.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Barclays raised their price objective on Mplx from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Mplx from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Mplx from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Mplx from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Mplx in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $43.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mplx currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $49.56.

Mplx Price Performance

Shares of MPLX opened at $48.42 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market cap of $49.33 billion, a PE ratio of 11.42, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.43. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $48.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $44.85. Mplx has a twelve month low of $36.76 and a twelve month high of $51.94.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The pipeline company reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.09 billion. Mplx had a net margin of 36.77% and a return on equity of 32.70%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.89 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Mplx will post 4.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Mplx

In related news, VP Carl Kristopher Hagedorn sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.24, for a total value of $188,960.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 14,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $696,790. The trade was a 21.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cedar Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Mplx during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $51,000. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Mplx during the second quarter valued at $67,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mplx in the 2nd quarter valued at $88,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mplx by 393.0% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,451 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $153,000 after purchasing an additional 2,751 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zhang Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mplx during the 3rd quarter worth about $202,000. Institutional investors own 24.25% of the company’s stock.

About Mplx

MPLX LP engages in the operation of midstream energy infrastructure and logistics assets, and distribution fuels services. It operates through the Logistics and Storage (L&S) and Gathering and Processing (G&P) segments. The Logistics and Storage segment transports, stores, distributes, and markets crude oil, asphalt, refined petroleum products, and water.